August, Author Update
Young Emeline is coming along
Recently, I enrolled in a writing class, and I’m amazed by how much I’m learning and getting done. It’s called the Summer Essential Residency by Daniel David Wallace. It has unclogged my brain and allowed the story to develop.
For the first of 8 weeks, we simply thought of 3 scenes, picked one to write about for 7 minutes (using a timer). We were told not to worry about editing, research, names, etc. Just write about it for seven minutes. It’s amazing how you can get the thought out of your brain and onto paper (or digitally) without stopping to overthink things. I wrote 20 scenes that week. :)
The second week, we were told to come up with 100 ideas divided into 8 categories:
Food, art, music
Locations
Objects and materials
Past events
Questions
Tensions
Time, weather, and light
Twists, surprises, and reveals
That’s easier than you think. It’s only about 12-13 ideas per category. I had the hardest time with Tension and Twists. Then, we were to take 3 of these from different categories and write another scene for 7 minutes. We were to do this three or four times. (I did four.) For my first one, I explored the woods and lost track of time—and my way. How will I learn courage? Summer heat and flowers. (Location, Questions, Weather)
This last week, we added a little structure. We wrote 3 scenes for each of the 3 turning points:
A New-Path (when the story moves from the regular world to a new world)
Difficulties (when the story shows troubles)
When All Seems Lost (black moment)
Each of these had 3 parts: precursor to the event, the event, and the aftermath—nine scenes altogether. Done!
An important lesson—you can learn from any scene, good or bad. If you love it or hate it. I deleted several scenes because I learned what I didn’t like or want. And that takes the pressure off!
Can’t wait to see what this week has in store…
Upcoming Events
Heartland Book Fest, September 20, 2025. Topeka, KS
Lansing Fall Festival, October 11, 2025, Lansing, KS
MAACS Educator’s Conference, November 6-8, 2025, Kansas City, MO
Possibly Mid-Continent Local Library: Local Author Fair, November 15, 2025, Kansas City, MO (applied, will be notified in September.)
There’s still plenty of room to schedule an author visit at your school or homeschool group! Click HERE.
August Chickadee Cheer Winner
Congratulations to Ami J. You’ve won the August giveaway as a subscriber to Chickadee Cheer. I’ll send you an email inviting you to choose a book of your choice. Thanks for subscribing! Hope you continue to enjoy my blogs.
(Please don't forget to review my book on Amazon or your favorite place.)
KEEP COOL
If you’re vacationing, have fun & be safe.
If you’re school-shopping, enjoy the moments.
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